CrazyA: Hey! It's amazing, ain't it? A chapter THIS quick! But this is a pretty short one, even with the level of importance. So I hope you guys enjoy it! I know I did while writing it!!
12. Meant to Be There
'Storm clouds may gather, the stars may collide. But I love you until the end of time' – Come What May, Moulin Rouge
"Why am I always the damsel here?" Zomberella asked herself, descending a golden staircase. Her ruffled dress of yellow silk was a right hassle to walk in, but she had to admit that it was beautiful. Her brown hair was nicely done up in a bun with yellow ribbon, and her hands nicely dressed inside pearly golden gloves. She let out a sigh of relief as she realised where she was. "Beauty and the Beast... and there isn't even a kiss until the end of the movie..."
Ever since the first dream in the tower, she had been dreaming different scenes between her and the doctor each night. Each one ending with her waking up in a pool of sweat, still left with the taste of mint on her lips. Each dream was so real, and she couldn't help but feel so much peace from each night.
"Don't think about it, Wendy..." she said, remembering her mother's words that usually started a long rant. "Just dream of dancing... that's a very peaceful subject..."
The ballroom was empty, a surprising factor for the zombie, but she could hear an orchestra play a beautiful piece through the air. The music filled her senses, flying around her mind like butterflies. She felt completely at ease, and she relaxed her mind and listened to the sound that only the fortunate got to hear...
...the sound of his footsteps approaching her.
Zomberella stayed focus on the music, trying to pick out what part was what instrument. She could control her dreams... if she just kept him out of it... as soon as he appeared, she couldn't do anything to stop herself from kissing him.
Violin.
Cello.
Harp.
Flute.
"I take it you enjoy this piece?" Doctor Cockroach asked her. Zomberella had her back turned on him, but she knew he was wearing the same royal blue velvet that he always seemed to wear in her dreams. She might've been going mad for fairytales, but she didn't have too much of an imagination.
"Uh... yeah, I do..." she said automatically. Then, realising she's not meant to be on the same terms with her dream-roach, she cleared he throat and tried again. "It's not that good, but still... I guess dreams aren't always perfect..." She felt bad for acting so harshly towards him, even if it was a dream, but she didn't want to realise the truth. Truth wasn't pretty, even if it involved warm feelings and stomach knots.
She could feel the mood in the room drop, and her hope for a normal night increased. She lightly brushed the hair off her neck, trying to do something to fill the now awkward silence. The orchestra still played, but she couldn't enjoy the music as she did before she turned it down. As her thoughts lead to dead ends, the music died into pure silence.
"You're right..." Dr C agreed. "I prefer Aqua over Mozart any day of the week." He laughed nervously, finally dying down into an awkward chuckle as he saw her arms remain crossed around her chest. That was one of the things Zomberella couldn't stand about her dreams, she always made him so real. He might've dressed in different clothes but he always stayed the same doctor. She couldn't take being this mean for this long... she let out a laugh, a quiet one, but a laugh nonetheless. And up went the level of the room again...
"Oh! I brought something for you," he suddenly said, his hand disappearing into the inside of his jacket. Zomberella turned, knowing that to just reject a man who was trying to woo her was just despicable. She would never be that sort of person, especially towards the mad scientist.
But she shouldn't have.
It was a rose, perfect and beautiful in a heavenly shade of white. The blush came quickly as the orchestra began to play once more, that distant beating starting up again. And with that heart-beat, the undead girl knew exactly what was about to happen. She had lot control of the dream and the rest of her emotions. Sense? What was that? Now there was merely giddiness, beauty, freedom, passion and lo-
"It's not much, I know, but I-" Dr C was cut short, for someone had recently realised that lips shouldn't just be alone on someone's face. Taken back for a quick minute as Zomberella latched onto him, the blush on her face a painful red, he rested his hands on her waist carefully as her arms around his neck tightened.
She was usually not the one to go ahead and do this, but in dreamland the rules of reality didn't really matter anymore. The steady beat in the background was quicker now, and she honestly couldn't give a fig about the world back home. Her heart, not the still one in her chest but the part of her body that stored all of the emotional baggage and affection for Dr C, decided that her brain had to shut down for a few minutes while it took a turn at the wheel.
Stuff the future, it said, I love this man.
Zomberella woke with a start, her brain jumping about inside her skull as she suddenly realised what she had been dreaming of... again. But this time, she wasn't screaming at herself and wondering what the hell was going on with her warped and lonely brain. She merely sat up in bed, staring out at the window, thinking about the different factors about tonight.
For starters, she kissed him. Usually she was too much of a damsel to actually do anything and just let him do all the work. But the fact that she was bold enough and crazy enough to just lunge at him like that... Were her feelings for him getting stronger? Would the dreams lead to more than a simple kiss?
She hoped not. Otherwise she'd never be able to look Dr C in the eye again.
Secondly, the story she was dreaming about didn't even have a kiss in it, or at least not in the part she was imagining then. She and Dr C were just talking calmly and then she... Her switch from casual to romantic had something to do with flowers, she knew that much. When she dreamt in Snow White form, there were daisies in her glass coffin, and when it was Princess and the Frog (Dr C in a dress... not the best night...) she could swear they were near a lilypad. But even then, she didn't full-on snog people whenever she walked by a flowerbed. Why were her switches getting stronger?
And thirdly...
She had actually said it. Not verbally, no... but she heard a part of her being say it. 'I love this man'. Was her dream entirely based on fiction? She could admit that she had a minor crush on Doctor Cockroach but love?
Her feet hit the floor, dressed in her white socks for the extra layer of warmth (as the prison got even colder during the Winter months) and she slowly walked over to the large window of her room. Staring out into the dark of the gigantic metal prison, only dimly lit by the occasional work-station light or helicopter, gave Zomberella a chance to think. And right now, she needed all the thinking she could do.
Doctor Cockroach... who was he? On appearance, he was a freak of nature. Crazy. Wacked in the head. Mutated and overall... a monster. But then again, so was everyone else here. Link wasn't a fish or a monkey, he was this thing between the two. BOB was, if she was told right, actually a tomato with a few extra ingredients. Insectosaurus had been exposed to nuclear radiation, morphing him into a giant bug of extreme proportions. And as for Zomberella herself, she couldn't say she was a normal twenty-three year old.
The minute she had heard his voice, the way he spoke and the way he presented himself with dignity and class, she knew she would like him. The way he took everything calmly, and always tried to look out for the people around him. Like how he had tried to protect her from Monger on the first day in the prison, even approaching her afterwards and helping her up to her feet. Or how he had stitched up her stomach when she did her first stumble on the obstacle course...
...she couldn't help but blush at the memory of being held in his arms when he carried her to the lift...
He was always ready to help other people, and he always wanted to do something. The limited amount of boyfriends that Zomberella once had, when she was still just Wendy Summers, always seemed to just stay home and watch the game while she dozed off and dreamed of moving away somewhere far, far away... she even tried doing an online Japanese course, only to give up when her internet started being chewed up.
That was one thing: he never just gave up. If something didn't work, he'd probably mope about it for a while and mutter 'Oh blast'. But then, he'd find some way around the flaw to make it even better than he had originally planned it.
"It's more than a crush... isn't it?" she asked the dark quietly.
...she was in love with him. Hopelessly, utterly and completely in love with him.
No one else in the whole world was like him, and she had never met someone as brilliant, smart and charming as he was.
"What a crazy, random happenstance..." she said, laughing at herself. But her humour died as she realised one of the most important factors...
Should she tell him?
She was still trying to figure out her own feelings, would it be too complicated if she suddenly put another person trying to figure them out as well? Besides, he probably didn't even feel the same way about her. It would be so exhausting seeing him every single day for the rest of her life with this awkward silence between them if she ended up being rejected.
"Wendy... does Dr C have a crush on you?"
"You're doing wonders, my dear!"
"Sure, you're not like a girl from TV. But that doesn't make you any less of a person."
"Wendy, just trust me."
"Guys, just because I'm the only monster with breasts does not make me the one and only for Doctor C..."
"Wendy's wonderful, but really! General, we're not that close!"
... She had close to no idea on what he thought about her. She might as well have been blind, for she couldn't see anything reasonable about what was happening in her world. But she couldn't hear all the things he had said about her. Or at least the things he wanted to say but always ended up being blocked. She had no clue that he even wanted to speak out and tell her.
"Wendy... you are not cute... you're charming... witty... and a true friend... And most of all... you are... beautiful. Maybe not the type of beautiful you think you should be... but that doesn't mean you're not… And you're definitely one of the funniest of girls I've met in my lifetime..."
She had no clue that he had ever said such a glorious thing.
Zomberella folded her arms across her chest, closing her eyes quietly. Tomorrow was Christmas morning, and she knew that it would be an appropriate time to tell him. Christmas was all about lovers and family and friends anyway, wasn't it? She just had to think up of a way to get them alone together... she couldn't bear the thought of Link and BOB listening in on her confession.
She would do it. He had a right to know everything. Even if it didn't turn out perfect, Dr C wasn't the sort who would simply turn her down bluntly. They'd always be friends, no matter how badly she screwed everything up.
There was something she had seen a long time ago, while she was just reading through a book at a quick glance. She couldn't even remember the name of the book or how old she was when she read it, but there was a line in there that she liked the sound of. She had forgotten completely about it, but as these feelings bubbled up inside her she couldn't help but think backwards to that quote...
If you can't get someone out of your head, then maybe they're meant to be there.
Zomberella smiled, rubbing her arms for extra warmth. The prison's pyjamas were fairly thin and a few sizes too big, the ends of her pants trailing on the floor, so they didn't exactly help fight off the cold.
But inside, there was a blazing sun burning away. Though her skin was cold to the touch, she felt so warm inside. It was like her whole body had been sitting in the light of the day, golden rays warming every part of her being. Sure she was freezing... but she felt as cold as Summer.
CrazyA: AND SO IT BEGINS!!!!!! I'm starting the next chapter as we speak, so I'm sure that I can get it up pretty soon. But nothing like this three-day-miracle, I'm afraid. About... a week? Maybe more, depending how I am. Oh, and if you guys know which quotes appear in what chapters, tell me and I'll give you a prize!
